2011 Ford Shelby GT500 Test Drive

With a new 5.0-liter V8 for the GT and a surprisingly quick V6 for the base car, 2010 is shaping up as the year of the Mustang. But it's not over. Meet the revamped GT500, the fastest Mustang Ford has ever produced.

Danville, Va.—Last year, the GT500 was significantly updated with new sheet-metal, a redone interior and a revised suspension system that finally made the priciest Mustang a world-class handler. Apparently the SVT crew wasn't finished, because this year, the engineers tackled the GT500's most glaring fault­—its prodigious 3935-pound curb weight. Plus they added a performance package with a new set of Goodyear rubber that provides enough grip to seemingly peel pavement. Let's take a spin around both the car and the Virginia International Raceway (VIR), the venue where we really got a sense of how this latest Stang stacks up.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

The Specs

The biggest news is under the hood, where the old car's 5.4-liter supercharged V8's iron block has been replaced by an engine of the same displacement but has an aluminum block. This alone saves 102 pounds—the new car weighs roughly 184 pounds less—and, just as important, it lightens the load on the already overburdened front tires.

This block employs a new Ford-patented cylinder-lining process called Plasma Transferred Wire Arc (PTWA). This process uses a probe that's similar to the tip of a MIG (metal inert gas) welder to line the aluminum cylinder walls with a tough iron-based coating. The coating is only 150-microns thick so it saves about 10 pounds over conventional pressed-in liners.

Most Popular

In addition, a larger intercooler avoids the power-sapping heat soak of the old engine and an upsize exhaust reduces back pressure. That last change is why the aluminum engine makes 550 hp, 10 more than last year. Torque remains the same at 510 lb-ft, and the six-speed manual returns as the only gearbox.

The engineers recalibrated the suspension in line with the reduced weight. Most significantly, however, is the new $3495 optional performance package. Cars so equipped can be recognized by the thin nose-to-tail stripes, but what's important is in the wheel wells. Goodyear's latest Supercar tire, called G: 2, wraps around lighter forged aluminum 19-inch front wheels and 20-inchers out back. Also, the spring rates are stiffer—20.5 percent in front, 9.5 percent in the rear—and the whole car was lowered by roughly half an inch. There's also a shorter 3.73:1 axle ratio. The brakes, regardless of options, are massive discs with four-piston front calipers and two-piston rears. The other big chassis change is a switch from hydraulic-powered steering assist to electrically assisted, just like the standard Mustang.

The best part? The lighter weight allowed the GT500 to drop a weight class and thus it gets better fuel economy—15/23—and is no longer saddled with a gas-guzzler tax. For a car that starts at $49,495, every little bit helps.

>

The Drive

Key the ignition and the V8 explodes to life. The burbly exhaust tune is instantly recognizable and, to any gearhead, as welcome as a baby's coo. Sliding the cue-ball-tipped shift level feels solid and mechanical and the clutch that's tasked with coupling all that power to the gearbox easily glides through its travel.

Imagine resisting a slab of Ruth's Chris Steak House's finest filet—medium rare of course—after not having eaten for a couple of days, and you'll have a good idea of the restraint required to keep the GT500 at legal speeds. The throttle response is simply unnerving, an intoxicating rush that follows every gear change.

The stability and traction-control system allows a fair bit of wheelspin before reining in the fun, but there's plenty of leeway to attract the wrong kind of attention. Luckily we avoided the law as we traveled along two-lane roads from our starting point in Raleigh, N.C., to VIR. On these roads, we found that a shift to the very tall sixth gear effectively quiets the engine so we could enjoy the fruits of the Ford' Sync infotainment system.

We finally got our chance to open this baby up when we barreled down VIR's front straight. There, our initial impression was only strengthened. The engine is a monster. Equipped with the performance package, Ford estimates a 4.1-seocnd 0-to-60 time and we believe that figure. Low-end torque is prodigious, but the engine really comes alive above 4000 rpm and pulls like mad to the 6250-rpm redline.

Ford brought along a 2010 model for comparison and the difference between the old car and the new performance-pack-equipped 2011 model (They didn't have any base cars on hand) is startling. While the old car gripped with 0.96 g's through the turns, the new one hangs on even harder. Those new Goodyears feel like race tires in that they stick quite effectively and break away gently, letting the driver know the limits of adhesion.

We didn't notice much if any difference between the old hydraulic steering and the new EPAS setup. "The single biggest hurdle was tuning the EPAS to feel as good as the hydraulic system," said Gene Martindale, a vehicle dynamics engineer. Mission accomplished: The steering is quite accurate, if a bit on the light side. As before, the GT500 is a confidence-inspiring handler. It's biased toward understeer—with the stability control turned off—but gentle control inputs summon up any cornering behavior the driver wishes. For a car as quick as this one—and one with a solid rear axle—it's remarkably easily to extract every last ounce of performance.

The downsides are few. The shifter is a tad stiff and it's especially hard to make a quick, clean change from second to third gear. The engineers on hand said that the gearbox is internally stout, which accounts for some of the stiffness, and the linkage loosens up with use. We've driven several and they're all the same, so we have our doubts. The steering wheel doesn't telescope, so it's tough to find a comfortable driving position. And finally, the ride gets choppy over small bumps.

The Bottom Line

A GT500 coupe with the performance pack—a required option in our opinion—runs $52,990. It's every bit a modern-day muscle car, with a lusty and exuberant engine and sharp handling. The car's main problem is its sibling, the new Mustang GT 5.0, which offers 412 hp and nearly the same handling prowess for about 20 grand less.